Means for banding and binning shelves



Oct. 17, 1967 H. .5. MAR'SCHAK 3,347,395

MEANS FOR BANDING AND BINNING SHELVES Filed Aug. 16, 1965 2. Sheets-Sheet 1 '0ct- 6 H. J. MARSCHAK 3,347,395

MEANS FOR BANDING AND BINNING SHELVES Filed Aug. 16, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VENTO/Z Howard JMm'sclzak United States Patent 3,347,395 MEANS FOR BANDING AND BINNING SHELVES Howard J. Marschak, Evanston, Ill. (855 W. North Ave, Chicago, II]. 60622) Filed Aug. 16, 1965, Ser. No. 479,847 9 Claims. (Cl. 211-484) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Means for banding and binning shelves in which the shelf is provided with a plurality of spaced openings. The means include an upright member with a bracket secured to the bottom of the upright member. The bracket has a hook portion. A spring detent is secured to the bracket. The hook member of the bracket enters one of the openings in the shelf with the spring detent locking the hook member to the shelf to detachably support the upright member with respect to the shelf.

This invention relates to the means for banding and binning shelves.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide means for readily banding and binning shelves.

The term banding or fencing is applied to the use of members attachable to a shelf to form the ends and the front and rear sides of the shelf, while the term binning is applied to the use of members which serve as dividers to form separate compartments or bins. The aforesaid members, whether banding or binning, shall hereinafter be sometimes referred to as uprights or upright members.

Various methods have previously been used, however, there are disadvantages inherent in their use. The attachable upright members require the positioning of two such members in adjacent and confronting relationship to provide the support to maintain them in upright position. Other methods utilize fastening elements which have separable parts, requiring them to be connected, and such separable parts can become lost or disengaged.

This invention eliminates the foregoing disadvantages by providing the upright member with brackets which are readily locked to the shelf so as to independently support and maintain the upright in either a banding or binning position without requiring adjacent uprights for supporting same. This invention provides each upright member with self-contained means for detachably securing said upright to the shelf without the use of tools or extraneous fastening means.

This invention permits the upright to be positioned in any desired position on the shelf, and by inserting the hook members of the brackets in the shelf openings the detent on the bracket will cause the bracket to be locked to the shelf to support the upright in a positively locked position. Attaching the upright to the shelf is accomplished in an almost instantaneous action. The detachment is likewise instantaneous.

This invention is capable of use with conventional shelves which are provided With spaced openings which are of a diamond, circular, square, or rectangular shape, or any shaped opening.

Other objects will become apparent as this description progresses.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a shelf with the upright members forming the banding and binning members in position on the shelf.

FIG. 2 is a front view of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

3,347,395 Patented Oct. 17, 1967 FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the bracket which forms the means by which the uprights are detachably secured to the shelf.

FIG. 5 is a view of the spring used on the bracket.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view taken on line line 6-6 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 7 is a view partly in section showing the bracket during insertion or removal of same with respect to the shelf, and

FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 7 but showing the bracket in locked position on the shelf and showing in dotted lines the position of the spring for unlocking of the bracket.

The metal shelf with which the invention is used is dseignated by the numeral 10 and same is provided with spaced openings 12 throughout the entire surface area thereof. The openings 12 are shown to be diamond shaped, although it will be understood that this invention may be used with shelves provided with spaced circular, square, rectangular, or other shaped openings. It may be used with shelves which have a limited number of openings instead of the spaced openings throughout as shown. The shelf is provided with a depending flange 14 around the borders thereof.

The bracket, Which is the subject matter of this invention, is generally designated by the numeral 16, and is shown in perspective in FIG. 4. Such brackets are permanently secured to the upright members which form the dividers or binning members and to the uprights which form the fencing or banding members, so that said members can be detachably locked to the shelf to support said members in locked position on the shelf. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the upright members 18 form the opposite end fencing or banding members, and the members 20 form the side fencing or banding members. The upright members 22 form the dividers or binning members.

The banding members 18 and 20 and the binning members 22 are all of identical construction; the difference is only in the length of the upright members. The end members 18 and the binning members 22 are shown as being the same length and may be used interchangeably. The banding members 20 in the illustration shown are longer but otherwise are the same as the others. As the upright members forming the banding and binning members are all alike, except for the difference in length, and the brackets are all alike, only one of each will be described.

The upright members are formed of an outer wire or bar member which is bent to form a rectanguar-shaped frame 24 to which is welded spaced bars 26. The uprights may be of any other size of configuration. The uprights forming the dividers and handing members are adapted to be positioned vertically and at right angles to the plane of the shelf, and each divider or banding member has a minimum of two brackets 16 secured to it, one adjacent each of the opposite ends of the members. In banding members of a greater length, such as those forming the sides 20, additional brackets are secured thereto and are suitably spaced along the length thereof.

The brackets 16 are welded to the bottom bar 24' of the frame 24 and extend in a plane at right angles to the plane of the upright or frame member 24. The bracket 16 is preferably an integrally formed metal stamping and in the main comprises a substantially flat top surface 27. The rear end of the bracket has spaced projections 28. The bracket is welded as at 25, at the two projections 28, to the bottom bar 24' of the frame 24 of the divider or banding member. Forwardly of the fiat rear surface, the bracket has a raised portion 30 which is slitted as at 32 along its opposite sides from the surface, and said raised portion forms a socket 34 for receiving and anchoring one end of a spring, to be described.

The bracket is recessed or cut out along one side as at 36 and is provided with a downwardly extending hook member 38 which is reversely L-shaped. The hook member extends below the plane of the bracket. The front end of the bracket has a V-shaped cutout 4h. The bracket has an opening 42 to receive the opposite end of the spring.

The spring member generally indicated at 44 is best shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. It is formed of music spring wire and is preshaped, as shown in FIG. 5, to comprise a straight side 46, an arcuate shaped front end 48, and a short opposite side 56) parallel to the straight side 46 which terminates in a downwardly extending end 52 which forms a detent. Extending inwardly from the straight side 46 is a short rear end 54 parallel to the front end 48 which terminates in an inwardly extending end 56 which initially is bent at an angle upward from the plane of the spring as shown in full lines in FIG. 5.

The spring member 44 is secured to the bracket 16 by inserting the end 56 into the socket 34 and by inserting the downwardly extending end or detent 52 into the opening 42 to extend below the plane of the bracket. When thus secured to the bracket the spring is prestressed, since the angled end 56 will be positioned in the same plane as the straight side 46, as shown in FIG. 4. The front arcuate end 48 of the spring extends across the V-shaped cutout 40 of the bracket. This permits the front end 48 of the spring to be manually engaged by placing the finger in the cutout 40 and lifting upwardly to raise the detent end 52 from the opening 42.

The fencing or banding members 18 and 20 and dividers 22 are detachably secured to the shelf by means of the brackets 16 in the following manner.

In attaching the fencing members and dividers to the shelf, the said members are positioned on the shelf at the desired location so that the brackets rest on the shelf with the hook 38 thereof extending into the desired shelf opening 12. By manually sliding the upright slightly rearwardly so that the rear of the hook 38 is under the shelf, the detent 52 of the spring 44 will then engage the same shelf opening 12, and further slightly move the bracket 16 and upright rearwardly, as in FIG. 8, so that the hook member 38 engages the rear of the shelf wall adjacent the opening 12 and the detent 52 engages the front wall adjacent the same opening 12. This locks the bracket to the shelf and supports the upright member in position. Since the hook 38 and the detent 52 engage the rear and front respectively of the same opening, the bracket is locked against withdrawal from the shelf opening and is also looked against any free play or movement relative thereto.

With two or more brackets 16 on each fencing member or divider, the fencing members and dividers are each positively and detachably secured to the shelf. The attachment to a shelf is very easily and readily accomplished. The members are merely positioned on the shelf whereever desired and the hook members of the brackets inserted into the shelf opening and locked by the spring detent 52. If two brackets are used they are so spaced that the hooks of each will always register with an opening 12 in the shelf. This is likewise true where three or more brackets are used with each divider or fencing member.

To detach the fencing members and dividers from the shelf, the detent 52 of the spring 44 is lifted out of the opening 42 of the bracket or is raised sufficiently so that it does not extend below the bottom of the opening 42. This is done by positioning the persons finger in the V- shaped recess 40 and pressing upwardly against the front end 48 of the spring. With the detent 52 thus raised or lifted, as shown in FIG. 7, the bracket is slid forwardly in the opening 12 so that the hook 38 disengages from the rear of the shelf wall adjacent the opening 12. The bracket is thus free from engagement with the shelf and the fencing members or dividers are then detached from the shelf. The detachment is practically instantaneous.

Dividers and fencing members may be positioned anywhere on the shelf and may be instantly detachably 4 locked to the shelf. They may also be instantly detached and removed from the shelf.

While it is shown that the detent 52 of the spring engages the same opening 12 of the shelf, as does the hook member 38, it will be understood that the hook 38 can be positioned in one shelf opening 12 with the detent 52 in another opening 12 adjacent thereto, as long as the detent engages the front wall of such adjacent opening and causes the bracket to move rearwardly, with the hook 38 locking to the rear wall to effect the locking of said bracket.

While the spring and detent are shown as being a separate member from the bracket, it will be understood that a detent may be stamped or formed from the bracket as an integral part thereof.

It will be understood that various changes and modifications may be made from the foregoing without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In means for banding and binning shelves in which the shelf is provided with a plurality of spaced openings, said means comprising an upright member adapted to be positioned at right angles to said shelf, and means secured to said upright member for detachably securing said upright member to said shelf through said openings, said last mentioned means comprising a bracket which is secured to the bottom of said upright member with said bracket positioned at substantially right angles to said upright, said bracket having a downwardly extending hook and a spring provided with a downwardly extending member, with said hook member and said downwardly extending member adapted to be positioned in a single opening in said shelf to cause the hook member of the bracket to engage the wall of the shelf adjacent said opening and lock said bracket to said shelf to support said upright member.

2. In means for banding and binning shelves in which the shelf is provided with a plurality of spaced openings, said means comprising an upright member adapted to be positioned at right angles to said shelf, and bracket means secured to the :bottom of said upright member and positioned at right angles to said upright member for detachably securing said upright member to said shelf through said openings, said bracket having a hook member of a reversely-shaped L, a detent formed from a spring member, with the detent secured to the bracket forwardly of the hook member so that when the hook and the detent are inserted in a single opening in the shelf the hook of the bracket will engage with said shelf and prevent detachment therefrom while said detent is in said opening.

3. A structure defined in claim 2 in which the bracket is provided with a recess to permit the detent to be lifted.

4. In means for detachably securing an upright member to a shelf provided with a plurality of spaced openings, said means including a bracket secured to the bottom of said upright, said bracket extending at substantially right angles to said upright, said bracket having a downwardly depending hook member, a spring member secured to said bracket, said spring member having a downwardly extending detent passing through an opening in said bracket and extending below the plane of said bracket, said hook member and said detent adapted to be inserted into the shelf opening, with said hook member engaging the wall of the shelf adjacent the rear of said opening and the detent engaging the wall adjacent the front of said opening in the shelf to thereby lock said bracket to said shelf.

5. A structure defined in claim 4 in which the bracket is provided with a recess whereby said spring may be manually lifted to cause said detent to be withdrawn from the bracket opening and the shelf opening.

6. In means for banding and binning shelves in which the shelf is provided with a plurality of spaced openings, said means comprising an upright member adapted to be positioned at right angles to said shelf, and means secured to said upright member for detachably securing said upright member to said shelf through said spaced openings, said second means comprising a bracket positioned at right angles to said upright member and secured to the bottom of said upright member, in which the bracket includes a downwardly extending hook and in which the bracket is provided with a spring member having a detent extending through an opening in said bracket and wherein the hook and the detent engages a single opening in said shelf to cause said hook to engage the shelf in such a manner as to prevent detachment therefrom as long as said detent is positioned within said shelf opening.

7. In means for handing and binning shelves in which the shelf is provided with a plurality of spaced openings, said means comprising an upright member adapted to be positioned at right angles to said shelf, and bracket means secured to said upright member and having a downwardly extending hook which is positioned in side a shelf opening and in which the bracket has a detent formed from a spring wire, with the bracket and detent detachably securing said upright member to said shelf through said spaced openings.

8. A structure defined in claim 7 in which the hook member and the detent are both positioned in the same opening in the shelf and in which the detent causes the hook member to lock said bracket to said shelf.

9. In means for banding and binning shelves in which the shelf is provided with a plurality of spaced openings, said means comprising an upright member adapted to be positioned at right angles to said shelf, and means secured to said upright member for detachably securing said upright member to said shelf through said spaced openings, said last mentioned means comprising a bracket which is secured to the bottom of said upright member with said bracket positioned at substantially right angles to said upright, said bracket having a downwardly extending hook and a spring provided with a downwardly extending member, with said hook member adapted to be positioned in an opening in said shelf and said downwardly extending member positioned in another opening in said shelf to cause the hook member of the bracket to engage the wall of the shelf adjacent the opening in which the hook is positioned and lock said bracket to said shelf to support said upright member.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,677,544 7/1928 Brainard et al. 3121 17 1,748,339 2/ 1930 Gerberich 108--6 1 2,048,802 7/ 1936 Mapson 312-.3 2,148,892 2/1939 Bales 312140.3 2,658,628 11/1953 Hilgen 211-184 3,112,143 11/1963 Zacharias et al. 312140.3

FOREIGN PATENTS 1,3 62,684 4/ 1964 France. 1,371,701 7/1964 France.

ROY D. FRAZIER, Primary Examiner.

CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Examiner.

W. D. LOULAN, Assistant Examiner. 

4. IN MEANS FOR DETACHABLY SECURING AN UPRIGHT MEMBER TO A SHELF PROVIDED WITH A PLURALITY OF SPACED OPENINGS, SAID MEANS INCLUDING A BRACKET SECURED TO THE BOTTOM OF SAID UPRIGHT, SAID BRACKET EXTENDING AT SUBTANTIALLY RIGHT ANGLE TO SAID UPRIGHT, SAID BRACKET HAVING A DOWNWARDLY DEPENDING HOOK MEMBER, A SPRING MEMBER SECURED TO SAID BRACKET, SAID SPRING MEMBER HAVING A DOWNWARDLY EXTENDING DETENT PASSING THROUGH AN OPENING IN SAID BRACKET AND EXTENDING BELOW THE PLANE OF SAID BRACKET, SAID HOOK MEMBER AND SAID DETENT ADAPTED TO BE INSERTED INTO THE SHELF OPENING, WITH SAID HOOK MEMBER ENGAGING THE WALL OF THE SHELF ADJACENT THE REAR OF SAID OPENING AND THE DETENT ENGAGING THE WALL ADJACENT THE FRONT OF SAID OPENING IN THE SHELF TO THEREBY LOCK SAID BRACKET TO SAID SHELF. 